Tracey English – Visualisation

I am a freelance illustrator living in SW London with my family and I am returning to a creative life after taking time out while my sons were young, they are both now at secondary school, so over a few years I have been taking some on-line courses and also some courses at a local art collage, and I have now finally launched myself back into the creative market place.

My original back ground was in textile design and after leaving collage many years ago, I spent a couple of years working in a design consultancy before I started on my own work, from there I ran a stall at Greenwich Market selling hand painted silk and then slowly went into the world of illustration, mainly doing educational books, magazines, greeting cards and wrap. My style was very different back then and I worked mainly in gouache and watercolour.

I have now reinvented myself and I think this is the happiest and most confident I have felt about my work. I am embracing social media and all the positivity and possibilities that it brings along and with the help of the amazing on line creative community that I am in, it has made life much easier when you are working away alone every day.

My work involves hand colouring the tissue paper with acrylic paint, I normally prepare new sheets every time I start a new series of designs but I also have a large archive of used pieces that I can also dip into, I then cut the designs freehand, I normal have a rough sketch that I work from or a least an idea in my head, or if it is for a brief then I use the colour sources etc that have been given to me. Once the design is stuck down, I import it into photoshop and tidy it up and make a few tweaks. I am inspired by the pattern in nature and how forms interlock together. I love that I can cut out shapes that all slot together like a jigsaw.

This year I signed up with a U.S licensing agent earlier in the year and now some licenses are coming through, so I am excited next year to see the products thats are produced.

I am always open to new projects and ventures, and feel so blessed that I have rediscovered my creativity and of course, I am extremely excited to see what 2016 has in store for me.